What is shiftwork?
The Cleaning Award defines a shiftworker as an employee who:
- works a roster
- over the roster cycle (e.g. week, fortnight or month) can be rostered to work their ordinary hours on any day of the week (Monday to Sunday)
- is regularly rostered to work on Sundays and public holidays.
Shiftworkers can work permanent night shift or early morning, afternoon and non-permanent night shift.
Permanent night shift
Night shift is when an employee works:
- any shift finishing between midnight and 8.00am, and
- that shift does not rotate or change with another shift or day work.
Early morning, afternoon and non-permanent night shift
This is when an employee works any shift Monday to Friday:
- starting before 6.00am, or
- finishing after 6.00pm.
Broken shift workers
This is when an employee is required to work 2 (or more) shifts in 1 day (excluding meal breaks).
Rates of pay for shiftworkers
Shiftworkers are entitled to an hourly penalty rate for all hours that they work depending on whether they are a permanent night shift worker or an early morning, afternoon and non-permanent night shift worker.
An employee required to work a broken shift is entitled to a broken shift allowance. See the allowances section for more information.
Important! Find out more about wages, loadings and penalty rates under the Cleaning Award on the wages & penalty rates section. It is important that you check this information as the Cleaning Award saves some wages, penalty rates and loadings from pre-modern awards and phases in other wages, penalty rates and loadings.
If your shiftworkers’ rates of pay are not provided in Schedule A or Schedule B of the Cleaning Award, then the following penalty rates will apply for all ordinary hours worked.
- Early morning, afternoon and non-permanent night shift 15%
- Permanent night shift 30%.
Shiftworkers (except for broken shift workers) have different break and annual leave entitlements from day workers.
For information and assistance with your wages and penalty obligations under the Cleaning Award, you can call us.